Category Archives: Railroad

Gregory James Aziz, or Greg Aziz, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of National Steel Car, was born in 1949. He completed his degree-level education from Western University in Ontario, Canada. He then began working for Affiliated Foods, his family’s business, in 1971, and while he was there, the company grew into a large importer of fresh food items from Latin America and Europe.

After leaving Affiliated Foods, Gregory J Aziz worked as an investment banker in New York for several years. Then, in 1994, he acquired National Steel Car from its parent company, Dofasco. Under his stewardship, National Steel Car increased its production from just 3500 cars per annum to 12000 cars per annum by 1999. Not only has production risen, but the quality of railroad freight cars manufactured has also improved. This has been recognized by TTX SECO in its awards for more than 10 years. National Steel Car is also the only North American rail car producer that has been certified under the ISO 9001:2008 standard for the past 18 years, thanks to Aziz’s visionary leadership and his employees’ sheer determination. The firm has been at the forefront of engineering innovation when it comes to railroad transportation, and to that end, it has adopted the latest technology in order to remain North America’s leading freight car manufacturer. Robots and Computer Numerical Control machines are being put to use in National Steel Car’s assembly lines. Greg Aziz also believes in the power of motivated workers, increasing employment from 300 to 6000 within his first 5 years as CEO. The site at Hamilton, Ontario, where National Steel Car is based, employs about 2000 people alone, and the principles of team work and creativity have been paramount to its success.

Not only has Greg Aziz spent his time turning National Steel Car into a formidable force in the railroad car market, he has also made sure to give back to the community at Hamilton. His firm has contributed to a wide variety of local charitable organizations which include the Hamilton Opera, Theatre Aquarius, the United Way and the Salvation Army. Apart from monetary aid, National Steel Car’s employees have also regularly donated food items for local food banks in drives organized by the company.

Greg Aziz has therefore put his leadership qualities to effective use in taking National Steel Car to the top of the railroad industry and has garnered enough resources to help those in need.